Et Al. in APA: Complete Rules for In-Text Citations (7th Edition)
Use et al. correctly the first time. This guide covers the APA 7th edition rule for 3 or more authors, when full names still matter, and how to avoid ambiguous citations.
Quick Rules
The shortest version of this page.
What does et al. mean?
Et al. is short for the Latin phrase meaning “and others.” In APA style, it reduces long author lists in the in-text citation so your sentence stays readable while still pointing back to the full source.
If you are starting from the broader rule set, the main APA in-text citation multiple authors guide explains where et al. fits inside the full author-count framework.
APA 7th edition et al. rules
3+ authors: use et al. from the first citation
Parenthetical: (Garcia et al., 2024)
Narrative: Garcia et al. (2024)
1 to 2 authors: spell out every time
One author stays as (Garcia, 2024).
Two authors stay as (Garcia & Patel, 2024).
If you also need help deciding between sentence-integrated and parenthetical forms, use the parenthetical vs narrative citations guide next.
APA 7th vs 6th edition: what changed
APA 6th edition used et al. after the first citation only when a work had six or more authors. APA 7th edition simplified the rule: any work with three or more authors uses et al. immediately.
| Case | Parenthetical | Narrative | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA 7th | (Taylor et al., 2024) | Taylor et al. (2024) | Applies from the first citation for three or more authors. |
| APA 6th | (Taylor, Lee, & Kim, 2024) | Taylor, Lee, and Kim (2024) | The first citation could list more names before later shortening. |
How to disambiguate identical et al. citations
Sometimes two different sources would collapse into the same shortened citation. When that happens, add more surnames until the two citations are distinct.
Same first author + same year
(Nguyen, Patel, et al., 2022) vs (Nguyen, Roberts, et al., 2022)
Expand both citations until readers can tell the sources apart.
Same first author + different years
(Nguyen et al., 2021) vs (Nguyen et al., 2024)
The year already distinguishes the sources, so no extra surnames are needed.
Et al. formatting checklist
- Keep a period after al., not after et.
- Do not italicize et al. in normal APA prose.
- Use it in the in-text citation, not the reference entry.
- Confirm the reference list still follows the full APA reference list format.
FAQ
Answers to the common APA edge cases
Related Guides
Follow the connected APA guides below to move from rule lookup to final citation.
Parenthetical vs Narrative Citations
See the difference between ampersands, narrative prose, and direct-quote placement.
How to Format the APA Reference List
Reference-list rules for 2 to 20 authors, 21+ authors, alphabetizing, and punctuation.
Free APA Citation Generator
Generate in-text citations and reference entries for websites, books, and journals.